“Western countries, including Canada and the United States, must have a reset in their relationship with China — and part of that reset, in my judgment, must be a deliberate effort to onshore production, particularly on critical supplies.”

That’s what Alberta Premier Jason Kenney told a virtual roundtable sponsored by the Canadian American Business Council on Wednesday.

“I think the Chinese government played a significant role in the devastating public health and economic damage that is being experienced by the entire world,” Kenney added. “There must be some accountability.”

Those are bold words for a politician — clear, unambiguous — especially given that Kenney is hoping for a pipeline to the West Coast so his province (which is suffering from low world oil prices, as well as the pandemic) can resurrect its economy with oil sales to China.

Kenney, of course, is correct: China’s efforts to cover up the first outbreak of COVID-19 in and around the city of Wuhan in December has made the human and economic tolls many times worse.

For nearly seven weeks in December and January, China first denied there was a novel coronavirus ravaging its Hubei province, then tried to cover up the extent.

China’s Communist government refused for nearly a month to permit World Health Organization (WHO) scientists into Wuhan to assess what was going on. About that same time, the Communist regime began “disappearing” doctors, activists, lawyers and journalists who were trying to warn their fellow citizens of a new superflu.

By the time Beijing admitted it had an epidemic on its hands, travellers from Wuhan (and visitors to Wuhan who were returning home) had “seeded” the coronavirus in several countries.

Once the plague began spreading, China refused to give live samples of the virus to other countries to help them prepare for the onslaught.

China also concealed what it knew about symptoms, at first denying there was human-to-human transmission, then insisting there were just two symptoms.

This probably meant doctors in other countries missed many of the early patients who showed up at clinics and hospitals and failed to get them into isolation, which accelerated the spread.

Beijing now is masterminding a worldwide propaganda campaign to draw attention away from its role.

At the same time, it is making it difficult, if not impossible, for WHO inspectors to participate in investigations inside China about where the virus originated and how it spread so quickly among humans.

This virus may or may not have originated in a virology lab in Wuhan. Western intelligence agencies have denied White House reports that COVID-19 escaped from China’s main virus lab, which just happens to be in Wuhan, a few blocks from the wet market where the sale of diseased bats is said to have begun the human spread.

Even if the coronavirus was not a bioweapon gone bad, Western intelligence agencies are warning their governments that China is spying on COVID researchers in other countries in an attempt to steal formulas for vaccines, treatments and more accurate tests.

Kenney concluded his remarks to business leaders by saying it’s time for a “great reckoning,” with plenty of political and economic consequences for China’s autocratic leaders.

Now contrast that with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who still insists any criticism of China is merely fuelling racism in Canada.

On Wednesday, after polls showed Canadians overwhelming want China held to account, Trudeau finally summoned the strength to say he would have some tough questions for China (but also some other countries).

My guess is Trudeau’s desire for China’s support in Canada’s UN Security Council bid will prevent him from asking anything tougher than: “Hey, is there any way to make colourful socks less expensive?”

Bill Buford spoke about moving to Lyon with his family for a year to write Dirt, and then staying five, about their lives now in New York, and the future ...

This Week's Flyers

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our community guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.